Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fabric reinforced traction mat made of a layered composite wherein multiple adhesive layers are utilized along with fabric to prevent the foam portion of the mat from sticking to the substrate surface and wherein the traction mat may be snapped or adhered to the substrate surface such as the surfaces of boats, wave runners, snowmobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs).
Description of the Background Art
Cross-linked-closed-cell foam (“CLCC foam”) is a type of foam material that has been used since the 1980s to manufacture traction mats for boats, surfboards, jet skis, boat swim platforms, stand-up paddle boards and other such marine vessels and vehicles. Synthetic polymers are normally used to manufacture CLCC foam, usually by means of polymerization and plastic making technologies that incorporate the addition of foaming agents. Injection molding, foam extrusion, reactive foaming and gelation are some of the known methods for making synthetic polymers, sometimes referred to as “polymeric foams”, that are made up of two or more polymers. The term “cross-linked” refers to the chemical bond that binds one polymer chain to another. The term “closed-cell” refers to the fact that the structures of these polymers exhibit enclosed impermeable bubbles, or “cells”, unconnected to each other within the foam. Such closed-cell foams are denser than open-cell-structured foams; they do not have interconnected pores and they normally exhibit higher compressive strength due to such structures. Eva-Glory Industrial Co., of Taiwan, and the Ultralon Foam Group, of New Zealand, are just two of many commercial suppliers of CLCC foams. “Polymeric foam”, “cross-linked polyethylene foam” and “EVA foam” are among the terms that are used in commerce to refer to these CLCC foams. The term “EVA foam” refers to the fact that, initially, many of these foam products were made from ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and the term continued to be used commercially even when many of the newly developed foams contained very little or even no ethylene vinyl acetate at all. In the context of this patent disclosure it will be understood that the term “CLCC foam” refers to cross-linked-closed-cell foam, as well as “EVA foam”, whether or not the EVA foam contains little or no ethylene vinyl acetate at all.
CLCC foam is usually attached to the surfaces of such marine vessels or power sport vehicles by pasting a glue on the undersurface of the CLCC foam or on the surfaces for which increase traction is needed on such marine vessels or power sport vehicles, like, for example, the foot wells of a jet ski or the swim platform of a boat or the surface of a stand-up paddle board. As would be expected, such surfaces are usually wet and the people using such boats, surfboards, jet skis, platforms and other such marine vessels or power sport vehicles are often barefoot, making strong traction a most important safety feature of those vessels and vehicles.
The prior practice in this field has been to use glue to stick or adhere the CLCC foam to a substrate, which is usually fiberglass. It is done this way because the CLCC foam is spongy and cannot hold a shape and will tear if not stuck to a strong surface. Gluing the CLCC foam down in this fashion makes it permanent. This means the user cannot remove the CLCC foam (e.g., for cleaning) on occasions and then re-install it. Furthermore, the CLCC foam has a limited life and must be replaced every few years or, in some cases, every few months. The process of removing and replacing the old CLCC foam is tedious and scares away many users. This has been a problem in the marine industry where suppliers of CLCC foam traction mats often try to sell boat builders on gluing CLCC foam in the interior of the boat (in addition to the swim platform).
A number of compositions and techniques based on or related to CLCC foam have been used in the past for various purposes and with different results. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,862, of Matz at al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, covers a specific composition for applications in the manufacturing of foam sheets used in the motor vehicle industry. The patented composition includes polyolefin, propylene polymer and EVA. PVC is essentially described as undesirable for the patented composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,820, to Cheung, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, addresses a rigid, multi-layered, laminated recreational sports board, for riding waves and the like, comprised of a polymer film layer, a polyethylene foam layer and an extruded adhesive resin layer. A copolymer of EVA is mentioned as an example of the stipulated polyethylene foam layer. Anhydrite-modified EVA is mentioned as one of the kinds of adhesive resin layers that may be used. The layers are bonded to each other; and several combinations of layers and suggested compounds are discussed for carrying out lamination techniques.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20060228537, of Cheung, and U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20080026197, also of Cheung, the disclosures of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, disclose a rigid multi-layered foam composite glider that may be used as a body board, a snow slide or the like, as well as a method for improving the surface smoothness of a polyolefin film on a polyethylene foam core glider. The composition of the glider includes EVA foam and a polymer film layer. The method uses extrusion to form the laminated glider structure.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20080210366, of Chen, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, discloses a method for manufacturing mats that are said to be light in weight, flexible and slippery-proof. Automobile mats, bathroom mats, Yoga mats, household door mats and sidewalk mats are contemplated. The particular method claimed involves the use of an extruder, rollers, a knurling wheel, a discharge tank and so forth. EVA foam, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyolefin foam and other polymer substances are used.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20130280475, of Champion, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes a multi-layered marine vessel cushion pad for marine applications that uses EVA and is said to be removable and provide good traction. The pad is sometimes referred to as the “deck cover” or as the “assembly”. The patent application claims the assembly structure as well as a method for making it. Three layers are preferred. The deck of a marine vessel is the surface to which the pad may be fastened and from where it may be easily removed. Champion's objective is providing good cushioning to reduce shock and impact on humans and equipment on board, not providing strength to the EVA foam assembly to allow it to be fastened to the marine deck without tearing. The means for attaching the assembly to the marine deck comprises hook-or-eye fasteners such as Velcro®.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20140069337, of Dunford, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, claims an improved dog mat made of cross-linked, closed-cell polyolefin elastomeric or EVA foam with a continuous thin, waterproof soft outer skin that is said to be tear resistant. An odor repellant may be added to the mat.
Several other compositions and techniques have also been used in the past for certain marine applications for various purposes and with different results. Among them. U.S. Pat. Publication No. 2004/0121,117, of Peterson, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes a marine vessel outdoor carpet that is made of foam and that is said to be removable and detachable by providing it with snap heads and sockets mounted in and spaced along the unpadded carpet border to be snapped directly to the snap studs mounted on the deck surface. The main novel feature claimed by Peterson is that his carpets are cushioned to provide foot comfort to the standing helmsman on the vessel. The foam cushion padding is adhered to the underside of the carpet.
A need exists for a fabric reinforced traction mat that does not have to be glued to the surface of a vessel and that is strong enough to have snaps installed allowing easy removal. In a first embodiment, with snaps installed in the traction mats, the fabric reinforced traction mat can be snapped in place and then removed as necessary; and there is no need to glue down the CLCC foam. Alternatively, in a second embodiment, fabric reinforcement and layering in the fabric reinforced traction mat allows for the traction mat to be glued down while still allowing easy removal. The known prior art does not allow for snaps because conventional CLCC foam is too soft and the snaps get pulled out of the foam too easily. Also, the CLCC foam is too soft and tears easily making removal difficult.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the traction mat art.
Another object of this invention is to provide a first embodiment of a reinforced CLCC foam traction mat product with snaps, incorporated into the traction mat structure, which allow the traction mat to be snapped in place and then removed as necessary.
Another object of this invention is to provide a second embodiment of a reinforced CLCC foam traction mat having a separate layer between the CLCC foam layer and the substrate allowing the traction mat to be glued to the surface of a vessel if there was, thereby allowing the fabric reinforced traction mat to be removed at will and prevents the fabric reinforced traction mat from breaking apart on removal due to baking in the sun or other factors.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat product with improved strength that allows the use of snaps to easily and conveniently attach and detach the fabric reinforced traction mat to and from marine surfaces, such as the surfaces of boats and other marine vessels, as well as to and from the surfaces of snowmobiles, ATVs, UTVs and other such power sport vehicles.
Another of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat having a multi-layered structure specifically designed for such surface applications into which snaps may be incorporated in order to make a truly removable traction mat without the limitations associated with some of the traction mats currently available from other sources.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat for such marine and power sport applications that makes use of a unique multi-layered structure that increases its tensile strength and which allows the traction mat to be attached and removed by means of snaps without constantly tearing off the snaps when attaching or removing them.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat for marine and power sport applications that comprises a combination of a unique multi-layered structure with snaps, incorporated into said multi-layered structure, that has excellent traction (non-skid) properties and that is truly attachable and removable my means of snaps that do not separate from the traction mat when attaching or removing them.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat that is flexible and easy to roll and therefore offer an added competitive advantage when being shipped and/or handled.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat with the aforementioned attributes which may be manufactured and assembled by means of conventional techniques such as extrusion, laminating and rolling.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat having multiple layers of adhesive and fabric reinforcement such that a user can easily and quickly lift and replace the traction mat.
Another object of this invention is to provide a fabric reinforced traction mat comprising a fabric reinforcement layer that provides tensile strength and which can be adhered to a substrate or underlying surface.
The foregoing has outlined some of the pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.